GHAZIABAD: Starved of infrastructure initiatives, Ghaziabad on Wednesday bagged a project billed as the largest such venture in UP ? a Rs 1,125-crore elevated road stretching 10km and joining Raj Nagar Extension to NH-24.

It is expected to cut the driving time between the two points to 10 minutes. At present, the drive takes up to an hour depending on traffic. The icing on the good news is that this road will be toll-free.

Work on the road project is expected to begin on September 20 and finish by March 2017. The Ghaziabad Development Authority, which made the announcement, said the elevated road was the single-biggest such project to be undertaken by a development agency in UP. But in the context of NCR, it's a project that should have been mooted long ago for a rapidly urbanizing city like Ghaziabad.Read more…

The government has already initiated concrete steps to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of building 100 ‘smart cities’ – eco-friendly cities which use innovative Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for efficient delivery of public services and infrastructure.

PM Modi’s pet idea of building 100 ‘smart cities’ would need massive financial resources and technological prowess. For both these prerequisites, India will have to look up to foreign countries. Many countries have expressed their interest towards this endeavour of the new Indian government.

The Modi government has allocated Rs 7,060 crore (a little over $1.1 billion) in its maiden union budget to kickstart the smart cities project.

Singapore has emerged as a major foreign player in the Indian scheme of things in this context.

The government plans to deliver three smart cities by 2019, all of which will be part of the larger project called Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). These smart cities, scheduled to be completed by 2019, are Dholera, Shendra-Bidkin and Global City.

GREATER NOIDA: The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) is getting ready to fast-track its plan of connecting a 66-km route between Greater Noida and the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport via a high-speed metro link. Having completed the feasibility report for the project, final touches are being given to the project's detailed project report.

According to GNIDA officials, a recent meeting was held for finalising the feasibility report. "The DMRC is working on the report, which should be completed soon," said a GNIDA official.Read more…

Nod for road joining Greater Noida, Faridabad

TNN | Aug 13, 2014, 11.25PM IST

NEW DELHI: Government has approved construction of a road connecting Faridabad and Greater Noida that will improve connectivity between NH-8 in Gurgaon and Yamuna Expressway. The missing link on this stretch—where fresh road has to be built or existing road to be strengthened—is about 24.6 km, which will be developed into a two-lane all-weather road including construction of a 600 meter bridge on Yamuna.

This road will also work as a bypass for traffic coming from NH-8 and heading towards Noida, Greater Noida, Agra, Kanpur and Lucknow by avoiding congested Delhi roads.

Foundation stone for this project will be laid in the next 7-10 days for this Rs 200 crore project, just before the poll date for Haryana assembly election is announced. Sources said that the project was pushed by MoS (road) Krishan Pal Gujjar, who is Faridabad MP. "We have got clearances from both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to start work," said a road ministry official.

Metro plans to loop Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning to extend the Blue Line from Noida City Centre into a 60 km-long loop, covering various parts of Noida and Greater Noida. The loop line will also be linked with Line 8 (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) of Phase-III by a 9-km stretch connecting Sector-143 and the proposed station near Kalindi Bird Sanctuary on the banks of the Yamuna.

“The loop will consist of one extension from Noida City Centre to Gaur City Square in Greater Noida West, for which the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is currently being prepared. This will then be extended to Bodaki village in Greater Noida. Finally, Bodaki will be connected with Noida City Centre via stations at Pari Chowk and Sectors-147, 143, 85, 101 and 50 in Noida, among others,” a source said.

According to DMRC officials, the DPR for the Noida City Centre-Pari Chowk-Bodaki stretch has been approved and work is scheduled to begin in a couple of months. Sources said the Noida Authority had asked the DMRC to prepare the DPR for the stretch connecting Line 8 and the loop about two months ago and that it was likely to be ready by October this year. The DPR for extension of the Blue Line to Greater Noida West too is likely to be ready by October.